Friends Can Be Closer Than Family
by sociallyawkwardwomandork
Summary: Misadventures ensue when Nick brings Zavid, Livia, Xevikan, and others to St. Richard's with him, alongside Caleb and Kody. Each chapter is a new day, a new series of mishaps, and a new test to the bonds of this unconventional family.
1. Chapter 1: Handkerchiefs and Nosebleeds

**Chapter 1: Handkerchiefs and Nosebleeds**

"Children, I'd like you to meet your newest classmate, Mr... uh… Zee-vic-can, is it?" Mrs. Richardson butchered the pronunciation of Xevikans's name as she stood at the head of the classroom, alongside Xev himself, who stood with his hood over his head and eyes trained on the ground. Richardson raked a disapproving stare over Xev and his unconventional, all-black clothing as Nick cleared his throat from the back of the class to correct the English teacher.

"Zev-uh-con. His name is Zev-uh-con Dah-rah-zuhr-cees." Nick stiffened in his chair as he felt the simultaneous glares of Mrs. Richardson and Caleb fall on him and his tacky orange shirt.

"Yes, thank you, Mr. Gah-tee-aaa. But I believe that I can take it from here, seeing as how I am the teacher of this class." Mrs. Richardson narrowed her gaze on Nick even further. "Wouldn't you agree? Or perhaps you'd like to teach the class from now on and introduce Mr. Zee-vic-can yourself?"

Nick sighed mentally as he ground his teeth and put on his best suck-up smile. "No ma'am."

Mrs. Richardson grinned her smug, tight-lipped smile. "That's what I thought." As she carried on with her introduction of Xev, Nick blocked out the awful sound of her voice and turned to Caleb, who sat to the right of him. The half-demon was still glaring at him, and now entered his thoughts.

_You shouldn't defend him or his name, Nick. He doesn't deserve defense._

_I'd do the same for you, C. You know I would._ Nick thought back, frowning at Caleb's bitter tone.

_Because I'm your friend. That monster over there…_ Caleb flicked his deep brown eyes up to the front of the room to Xev and then back to Nick. _…is not your friend. Don't you ever make that mistake._

Nick rolled his eyes at Caleb's harped-on angry lecture and let out an audible sigh, catching the attention and glare of Mrs. Richardson. "Is there a problem, Mr. Gah-tee-aaa? You seem to be most dissatisfied with the way I've chosen to conduct class today."

Nick held back another sigh and bit back a snarky response, choosing to play the obedient role that Mrs. Richardson wanted from him. "No ma'am."

"Then perhaps I can carry on introducing your new classmate, with no further interruptions?" That tight-lipped smile returned to Richardson's face as her mouse-like eyes shot daggers at Nick.

"Yes ma'am."

"Excellent. Now, Mr. Zee-vic-can, is there anything you'd like to tell the class about yourself?"

Before Nick could stop himself, he blurted out the correct pronunciation of Xev's name once again. "Zev-uh-con. His name is Xevikan, remember?" Caleb shook his head of dark hair and trained his eyes on the desk before him.

Mrs. Richardson cocked her head at Nick in a way that reminded him of a hawk focusing on its prey. "Gah-tee-aaa, front and center. You can give your seat to Mr. Zee-vic-can."

Nick winced, glancing an apology at Caleb. The daeve's scowl deepened as he slowly flexed his hands under his desk. Nick slowly gathered up his books and backpack and moved to the front of the room, directly in front of Mrs. Richardson, as Xev kept his hood down and moved to the back of the classroom, taking Nick's vacant seat as his own. Xev, now sitting to the left of Caleb, kept his head of multicolored hair hidden within his dark hood and slouched in his chair, refusing to look at the demon next to him. Caleb did the same, developing a sudden interest in the pen on his desk and refusing to acknowledge the blood relative beside him.

Mrs. Richardson clapped her hands at the head of the class, still glaring at Nick but addressing the whole class in her sarcastic tone. "Now that we've had that troubling little matter taken care of, we can have some fun." Richardson's tone sobered to her normal, monotone voice, but her eyes remained fixed on Nick. "You have the remainder of the hour to compose a 1000 word essay on the significance of Desdemona's handkerchief in Act III, Scene IV." The class sighed collectively. "Due at the end of the hour. I suggest you get started."

Nick struggled to hold the gaze of his English teacher as she continued to stare at him while the rest of the class took out paper to begin their essay. All he really wanted to do was turn around and make sure that Caleb and Xevikan hadn't killed anyone yet. Namely each other. Mrs. Richardson leaned in and whispered to Nick with her putrid breath. "Correct me in front of my class again, Gah-tee-aaa, and you'll find yourself another new seat, in Mr. Head's office."

Nick winced at her pronunciation of his name as she practically spit it in his face. Nick sighed and gave Mrs. Richardson one of his stock answers of the day: "Yes ma'am." Nick wanted to correct her; he took no greater pleasure in life than in talking back to Richardson and authority figures who abused their power like she did. He knew he couldn't risk defending his own commonly abused name, though, and leave Caleb and Xev in a room together without him to stop them from mauling each other's faces.

As Mrs. Richardson strutted to the back of the classroom to her desk, Nick turned to verify that both Caleb and Xevikan still had their innards intact. He breathed a short sigh of relief when he saw both boys bent over their desk, staring intently at the papers before them. Caleb was furiously scribbling out his essay in his black pen, but Xev seemed to be having some difficulty. He had pulled a pen and some paper from his backpack, laying the paper out on the desk in front of him and gripping his pen tightly in his left hand. He did not write, however, and wore a frustrated expression on his partially visible face.

Xev's hand quivered over the paper, as if he had the words he wanted to say in his head but couldn't transfer them to the paper. And then it dawned on Nick: Xev couldn't write in English. If he had ever learned how, that knowledge was probably long gone by now. Nick had no doubt that Xev was incredibly intelligent, but realized then how unlikely it was that he would have ever had the chance to practice his writing, let alone that of a language not his own, in all the years he had spent locked away. Nick felt a pang of guilt for the creature's suffering, despite the fact that he was really the one to have ended it when he released Xev against Caleb's will.

Nick glanced around the room, eagerly looking for a way to help his new friend out, but couldn't find one. He briefly considered asking Caleb to help Xev, but then scolded himself mentally for what a terrible idea that was. Nick sighed quietly, wishing that Nekoda was in this class and that she would have a way of helping Xev. As he continued glancing around the room, Nick's bright blue eyes sparkled with a hint of daring as they focused on the one object in the room that might just help him: the fire alarm.

Nick scolded himself again for ever coming up with such a bone-headed plan, but he didn't see another option. Xev couldn't turn in a blank essay without humiliating himself and flunking Richardson's class. Nick couldn't just walk to the back of the classroom and help Xev without getting reprimanded by Mrs. Richardson and embarrassing himself and his friend in front of their classmates. Even if he could, what would he do? Re-teach Xev how to write in upper and lower case Latin characters and still get his own essay done in 40 minutes? It just wouldn't happen. If he were to pull the fire alarm, though… Well, Richardson couldn't grade an in-class essay if the entire class were outside in the parking lot, waiting for the fire department to put out a non-existent fire.

Groaning mentally at his own stupidity, Nick held onto his pen tightly and pretended to be writing his essay as he focused his eyes on the fire alarm that was positioned on the wall to the left of him. He couldn't just walk up to the fire alarm and pull it; Richardson would see him and get him suspended, maybe even expelled. He'd have to be more discreet. Racking his brain for a demonic power that might help him, Nick realized that pulling fire alarms from across the room wasn't exactly in his skill set. But maybe it could be. He had once set Stone on fire in chem class without knowing how to, all because of an emotional trigger. Maybe he could trigger some other kind of emotion and pull the fire alarm with his mind.

Nick glanced back to Xev and watched him struggle for a few seconds before catching Caleb's eye. Caleb scowled, glancing at Xev and then at Nick, trying to figure out what moronic plan the young Malachai had devised this time. Nick shrugged an apology and turned his head back to the fire alarm, now fiercely determined to help his friend in need and refusing to let anyone suffer humiliation like he did. Caleb's eyes widened and flashed a shade of orange as he realized what Nick was attempting to do. _Gautier, don't you-_

Nick breathed a sigh of relief as the fire alarm sounded, eliciting cheers from his classmates and a sharp gasp from Mrs. Richardson. He sat dazed in his chair for a few seconds before realizing that he had given himself a nosebleed. Nick quickly wiped his nose, determined not to let either of his friends see evidence of his struggle. He met Caleb's angered gaze as the daeve completed his sentence out loud, "-dare." Nick ignored his irritated friend and rushed back to the confused Xev, who stood slowly from his desk chair, unaware of why all the students had jumped up and headed for the door when the alarm sounded. Nick grabbed Xevikan by the arm and pulled him to his full height as he grinned.

"Come on, Mr. Zee-vic-can, no essay for you today," Nick winked at his friend, teasing him with the terrible moniker Mrs. Richardson had stuck him with. Xev met Nick's eyes and squinted at him suspiciously until he realized what the boy had done for him. Xev widened his eyes and gave Nick a solemn nod of appreciation that Nick reciprocated. Nick continued to grin as he pushed Caleb ahead of him and pulled Xevikan behind him, leading the unconventional trio of students to the door and out of the building behind the rest of the students.


	2. Chapter 2: Oranges and Cream Sweaters

**Chapter 2: Oranges and Cream Sweaters**

Kody smiled gently at the painting before her. Though she usually preferred more classical works, she found an odd sense of therapeutic comfort in the abstract orange swirls of her latest assignment for her painting class. Content with her newest swipe of color, she put her brush down and distanced herself from her painting to better observe it. As she straightened in her chair, she felt the unnerving sensation of being watched. She turned to her right and met Livia's gaze. The girl was staring at Kody with her dark eyebrows furrowed slightly and lips pursed. Kody turned slowly around in her chair and found Zavid giving her a similarly confused look. Kody hesitantly turned her head between the two beings, becoming increasingly uncomfortable with their unchanging stares. "What?" She finally questioned, breaking the awkward, tense silence between the three. "Is there something in my teeth?" Kody blushed, bringing her hand up to her face to cover her mouth.

Livia and Zavid exchanged a knowing glance, and then returned their stares to Kody. It was Livia who spoke next. "What in the five rivers of Hades are you painting?" Kody blushed even more furiously, looking down at the painting that she had considered to be at least halfway decent.

"It's a..." Kody stammered, "…well I mean there's no subject matter, but…"

"So what is it?" Zavid broke in.

"It's… abstract," Kody shrugged, lifting her tone at the end of her sentence and making it sound more like a question than a statement. Livia and Zavid continued their droll stares. "You know," Kody suggested, "abstract? It's not so much a picture of an object as it is a picture of a feeling."

Livia and Zavid exchanged another glance, looking skeptical. Livia leaned in closer to Zavid and whispered. "This is considered art now?"

Kody, now feeling a need to defend her work, snapped at the duo. "Of course it's considered art. Art is about expressing yourself, not just creating a perfect reproduction of something physical."

Zavid continued to frown. "But what are you expressing? Oranges?"

Kody scoffed. "Of course not. The color orange here is supposed to represent a feeling of joy and light-heartedness."

Livia raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow. "That's what you think joy looks like?"

Kody stiffened again, still defensive of her work. "To me, yes, it is." It was now Kody's turn to frown. "Why, what do you think it should look like?"

The skepticism on Livia and Zavid's faces was now replaced with concentration. Livia opened her mouth to respond, but quickly shut it and looked to Zavid to answer for her. The Hel Hound sat silently for a few seconds before responding.

"Well, it wouldn't be orange."

Kody looked at the two beings that sat beside her. She suddenly realized that the problem wasn't that Livia and Zavid disliked her painting, but that they didn't understand the meaning it had the potential to hold. Kody smiled, now grasping the situation for what it was. "It doesn't have to be orange. It can be whatever color makes you happiest and holds the most meaning to you, personally."

Livia frowned and raked a stare over Kody and her painting. "Orange," she sneered the word, "holds the most meaning to you?"

Kody blushed. She knew that she couldn't tell Livia or Zavid why orange was special to her without making herself seem weak and an easy target to abuse. Orange was the color of the tacky Hawaiian shirt that Nick had worn the day they met. It was the color that Kody was supposed to kill him in, but it was also the color that Kody fell for him in. Kody straightened in her chair, pushing those thoughts down and giving Livia her best smile. "Yes," she responded simply. "It does. But that probably isn't the case for you or Zavid."

Livia narrowed her eyes on Kody. "What are you saying?"

Kody sighed, getting slightly frustrated with all the questions surrounding her and her work and its meaning. "All I'm saying is that orange represents joy to me personally because of the happy memories it reminds me of. You and Zavid are likely to have different colors that bring you back to different happy memories."

Livia and Zavid glanced at each other, and then back to Kody, looking lost. "Oh come on," Kody frowned. "I know you guys have had it rough, but everyone's got some happy memories somewhere. There's probably a color you can associate with it, too."

_Black,_ Zavid thought. Black, the color of his dear sister's long hair, the hair that matched his own and reminded him to carry on for Zarelda, despite the suffering. He knew he couldn't tell Kody or Livia that, though, and risk looking weak in front of such powerful companions.

_Green_, Livia thought. Green, the color of only one of Xevikan's eyes. Green, the color of the eye that saw her cursed, bound state, and took her under its watchful protection. She knew she couldn't say such a thing out loud, though, and chance appearing feeble in the company of such power.

Kody smiled. The confused looks of Livia and Zavid remained in place, but Kody saw past them. Both had a memory in mind, no matter how long ago it took place or how marred by future battle scars it would become. She also saw that neither, however, would ever open up to sharing those memories, much like she would not share her thoughts of Nick. As much as she hated to admit it, she wasn't really all that different from either of the beings before her. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to pull a Nick and befriend them.

Kody put on an obviously fake pout and looked at her two acquaintances. "Well," she started in a drawn-out, sarcastic voice. "If you two really can't think of any happy memories…" Kody grabbed the open paint tube beside her and mentally berated herself for acting so much like her imbecile of a boyfriend. "…then I guess we'll just have to make some."

Kody exhaled sharply, bracing herself for the fallout of what she was about to do, and squirted orange paint all over Livia's black top. A pregnant pause followed the simultaneous gasps of Livia and the class's teacher. Kody feared for her life for a brief second in that pause, trying to gauge the exact expression on Livia's face.

Before Kody even knew what had happened, though, Livia broke out in a mad grin, grabbed a tube of green paint to her right, and squeezed its contents directly onto Kody's head. The class erupted into a series of cheers as Zavid's purple eyes sparkled. From the back of the classroom, Alex Peltier let out a loud whoop and shouted. "Paint fight!"

The classroom of normally tranquil painting students broke out into chaos in an instant. Paint was fired from all available paint tubes, onto all possible victims. The teacher screamed in a horrified voice as she ran for the door, being pelted with paint bullets as she did. Zavid seized the opportunity to split the gooey contents a black tube of paint between Livia's face and Kody's dress.

Kody, though positive that all these paint stains would never come out of her pink dress and cream sweater, grinned at her two accomplices. Her smile stretched even further when she saw that her two new friends were grinning back at her with genuine joy. She had never seen such a display of happiness from either of the two. Even if it got her expelled, she was glad that she had embraced her inner Nick Gautier and made the days of two new friends.

Livia ducked as a blast of chartreuse made its way towards her face, targeting and firing her tube of hunter green at the offender's previously white shirt. She beamed, feeling the long-forgotten sensation of sore cheeks from smiling so long. Such a feeling of soreness only made her beam all the more. Her whole life had been nothing but pain for almost as long as she could remember; it was about time that she was in pain for something that brought her joy.

Zavid felt the familiar rush of adrenaline pump through his veins as he turned on the ball of his foot to pelt a student with a burst of black. This time, however, he experienced something quite unfamiliar: the feeling of excited adrenaline. He been subject to fighting involuntarily so many times in his past that he had forgotten the feeling of fighting for something he actually wanted.

Outside in the hallway, Nick walked past the art room, heading towards his locker to retrieve a book he had forgotten for physics. He stopped two steps past the room, puzzled by what he thought he saw. Slowly, the Cajun backed up two steps, his head turned toward the window in the door of the art room. His mouth fell open in disbelief as he saw Kody, Livia, and Zavid standing back to back to back at the front of the room, mauling the other students with their globs of color. Nick chuckled to himself, wishing he had seen what had started such a riot. Hearing the sound of an angered art teacher and an even angrier principal approaching, Nick winced for his friends and sprinted down the hallway, turning the corner before allowing himself to smile. He had taught his girl in the cream sweater well.


	3. Chapter 3: Chain Rules and Children

**A/N: Thanks so much for your overwhelming support! I've been busy, but I do plan on continuing this story! Thanks again! :)**

Chapter 3: Chain Rules and Children

Nick sighed as he sat down beside Xevikan in his second period A.P. Calculus class. Gah. What a horrible idea, teaching helpless teens about integrals at 9:00 A.M. Nick sighed again, this one garnering the attention of his hooded companion. "Everything... alright?" Xev asked hesitantly in his heavily accented cadence.

"Yeah, I just... Gah. School, you know?" Nick shot a forlorn glance under under Xev's hood, in the general location Nick figured Xev's eyes would be. The portion of Xev's face that was visible to Nick remained unchanged, and it was clear that Xevikan was not feeling exceptionally sympathetic today. But then, that was nothing new.

Nick twisted around in his chair to glance at Kody and Caleb, who sat a few rows back. Thankfully, Mr. Hendelsen had assigned seats alphabetically, placing Xevikan Daraxerces next to Nick Gautier, and Nekoda Kennedy next to Caleb Malphas. While he'd really rather sit with Kody, or even Caleb for that matter, Nick was just glad Caleb and Xev weren't within arms reach of each other like they had been in English class only a few days prior. Nick grinned at Kody and Caleb, earning a charming smile and wave from Kody and a dramatic eye roll from Caleb. Nick chuckled to himself, turning back around in his seat as the bell rang.

Mr. Hendelsen cleared his throat at the head of the classroom. "While I'm sure you all managed to get the hang of the chain rule and its applications in last night's assignment, now is your opportunity to show it. Verbal pop quiz for extra credit." Nick joined his classmates in a collective groan. Though Nick was at the top of his class in almost all his courses and he certainly didn't need extra credit, he didn't really feel like sitting though another of Hendelsen's verbal quizzes and having to watch the kids who actually needed extra credit get trampled by those who didn't.

Mr. Hendelsen ignored the groans of his students and flipped on the projector. "As always, I will display problems on the screen, and whoever can raise their hand and give the correct answer first will receive three points of extra credit for each correct answer." Nick slid back into his seat as the first problem flashed onto the screen. Like the rest of his class, he sighed mentally and slowly picked up his pencil.

Not five minutes had passed before Xevikan put down his pencil and raised his hand. Mr. Hendelsen, not expecting such a quick response, was focused on something on his computer screen and didn't notice Xev. Nick's brow furrowed as he turned to face Xev before Hendelsen could notice. "How'd you do that so fast?" Nick whispered. "I'm not even halfway done yet!"

Xev's hood fell back slightly, just enough to reveal his puzzled expression. "It was... simple." Xev responded. Xev's deep voice caught the attention of Mr. Hendelsen, who looked up from his computer.

"Do you have a question, Mr. Daraxerces? You know I can't help you on extra credit questions."

Xev narrowed his eyes slightly. "No..." he hesitated, confused. "I have the answer." The classroom fell into a whole new level of silence as all eyes turned to the hooded figure at the front of the class.

Caleb closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose as Xev began to spew out a string of variables and constants. How could Xevikan be so ignorant? For ancient beings like himself and Xev, even the most advanced mathematics had ceased to be challenging eons ago. For everyone else though, the exercise Hendelsen had displayed on the board should have taken at least ten minutes to complete. As Mr. Hendelsen hesitantly congratulated Xevikan on his correct response, Caleb took a deep breath as his hatred clouded his mind, slowly piecing together a flawed version of what Xevikan must have been playing at. No doubt Xev had been trying to prove that he was better than Caleb. Smarter, even. As if.

The next problem flashed on the screen and the group of begrudging students picked up their pencils and began working out their answers. Kody slowly picked her pencil back up and began to copy down the problem into her notebook, as the rest of the class was doing... except, Kody noticed, Caleb. Kody peeled her eyes from her paper to look at the demon beside her. Caleb sat perfectly still, eyes trained on the screen. Puzzled, but not wanting to pry into Caleb's odd habits, she turned back to her paper. The Arel continued working for a few brief moments until it became vividly clear that Caleb had no intentions of moving to pick up his pencil or calculator. Kody hesitantly reached her hand in front of Caleb's face and waved it a few times, trying to get the boy's attention.

Caleb, eyes still focused on the board, reached up his own hand and brushed Kody's away. After a few seconds of a silent, confused stare from Kody, Caleb cleared his throat and raised his hand. Catching Mr. Hendelsen's attention and earning a subsequent skeptical nod, Caleb began his lengthy answer. All eyes in the classroom now turned on Caleb, who finished out his answer in a few seconds of monotone nonchalance. When he had finished, the classroom sat in an uncomfortable silence. Mr. Hendelsen checked his watch, and then glanced back up at his students and flicked his eyes between Caleb and Xev a few times. "You two cheating somehow, boys?"

"No, sir," Caleb met his gaze.

"Really?" Mr. Hendelsen said incredulously. "Because you just finished a ten minute problem in under three minutes, right after Daraxerces finished a similar problem in less than five."

"With all due respect, Mr. Hendelsen," Caleb began, a small smile creeping onto his features, "I really didn't cheat."

Mr. Hendelsen frowned and turned to Xevikan. "What about you, Mr. Daraxerces? Anything you'd like to tell me?"

"No, sir," Xev echoed Caleb's previous response.

Mr. Hendelsen squinted at the boys, and appeared to be considering something. "Fine," he started. "I'm going to write out a problem on the whiteboard, one that wasn't in my slides and one that I hadn't planned on giving to you. If either of you two brainiacs can solve this one in record time, I'll consider believing you."

Mr. Hendelsen glanced at the duo, and then down to the book before him. He turned to the whiteboard and began scribbling out a problem in red marker. Both Caleb and Xev now sat perfectly still in their seats, staring at the problem before them without the aid of their papers or calculators. When he had finished, Mr. Hendelsen turned back to face his class. He opened his mouth to inform Caleb and Xev that they could begin, but the determined look on each of their faces caused him to slowly close his mouth and furrow his brow in a confused state of admiration and curiosity. Mr. Hendelsen leaned against the board, arms crossed, monitoring the pair's every move. Or rather, lack thereof.

Nick slowly turned his head over his shoulder to meet Nekoda's concerned gaze. _Should we..._ Nick hesitantly thought to her, _stop them?_

Kody opened and closed her mouth, groomed eyebrows scrunched, before responding. _I... don't know._ Kody glanced at Nick with an unsure look playing on her features. _Maybe we should just let them have their fun?_

Nick tilted his head back and forth slightly, considering Kody's proposal. Sighing and submitting to Kody's benign plan, he turned his head back around. _This can't end well._

The two ancient beings remained absolutely still, the classroom in silence, for several seconds. Then, all at once, both Caleb and Xevikan sat up straight in their chairs and blurted out the complicated answer in perfect synchronization. Mr. Hendelsen slowly unfurrowed his brow, eyes widening. He glanced between the two boys with a new sense of awe. "Incredible," he breathed. "How did you... You know what? It doesn't even matter. Do it again." Hendelsen frantically erased the problem and began scribbling out a new problem from his textbook.

Once again, Caleb and Xev remained still until they answered together, always at exactly the same time and pace. Over and over, Hendelsen wrote out new problems that the duo answered in minutes. After a few problems, Nick turned back to Kody with a horrified look on his face. _This is going much more poorly than I anticipated,_ Kody thought.

_Agreed, _Nick thought. _We should stop them before the government swoops in to dissect their brains._

Kody rolled her eyes. Typical Nick. She sighed, but knew he was right. Caleb and Xev were answering way too many questions way too quickly to be considered normal high school students by any stretch of the imagination. _What should we do?_

Nick opened and closed his mouth, unable to think of an answer, as Caleb and Xev answered yet another question. Nick could only imagine what the two could be capable of, mentally or physically, if they were to work together. The possibilities scared him a little, and he shook his head to expel the thought and focus his shifting ADD mind. He'd love to tell Caleb and Xev to just stop, but somehow he doubted that either would listen, or take such a request lightly, and Nick certainly didn't want to be on the receiving end of such a clearly experienced team.

Nick's eyes gleamed as he thought of a solution. Maybe he couldn't get Caleb and Xev to stop, but he knew of a couple of other demons that might just be able to intervene. _Hey Z, Liv, _Nick projected his thoughts across the school to wherever his other two companions might be. He had no clue if his telepathy could reach that far, especially since he had no clue where either demon was, but he decided it was worth a shot.

After a few seconds of silence and no nosebleed, Nick was about to try again, thinking he hadn't tried hard enough, when Zavid's gruff voice entered his mind. _Malachai,_ he greeted.

Livia's voice followed suit, entering Nick's mind with a similar greeting.

Nick grinned to himself. He was pretty good at this telepathy thing. _You guys wanna get out of class for a while?_ _I need your help._

_YES,_ was the resounding reply from both demons. Nick winced at the shouting in his head. Dang, mental conversations could whip up headaches like nobody's business.

_Great, _Nick thought back, in a decidedly more quiet voice. _Be creative, sneak out of your own classes, high tail it to Hendelsen's room, and get Caleb and Xev out of the same room before one of them-_ Before Nick could finish his thought, a loud knock came on the classroom door, breaking the tense silence. Nick grinned. He always knew those two would be good for something.

A startled Hendelsen looked away from his newest prize students and to Alex Peltier, who sat in the back. "Alex, get that, would you? Caleb, Xev, please continue."

"Actually," Zavid's deep voice came from the doorway as Alex let him in. "I just came from the Coach's study hall. He needs to speak with the football team right away."

"And I just came from yearbook," Livia broke in as she, too, stepped in the room. "We need to borrow Xev for a few pictures."

Nick flashed a toothy smile at a disbelieving Kody as he stood and all but pulled Xev from the chair beside him. He strolled a few rows back to pluck Caleb from his chair, as well. "Guess that's our cue, huh? Great class, Mr. Hendelsen, see you later!" Nick said over his shoulder as he hauled his friends out the door. As soon as they were out of earshot of the classroom, Nick shoved Caleb to Zavid and Xev to Livia. Zavid and Livia held back their respective beings, who glared at each other and pulled at their restraints in annoyance. "What the heck is wrong with you two?" Nick whisper-shouted at the pair.

Caleb and Xev continued to scowl at each other, neither making eye contact with Nick. After a few seconds of tangible tension, Caleb and Xev broke their stares simultaneously, each glancing at the floor. "He started it," both muttered.

Nick shook his head in bewilderment. Children. They were children. Really, really, old children. Nick cleared his throat. "I really don't care who started it; I'm finishing it!" Nick said in his best angry parent voice. "Do I need to send you to your rooms, too?" Caleb and Xev rolled their eyes together. Nick shoulders slumped as he shook his head with disbelief. Man, they would make a great team. If only they wouldn't claw at each other's throats with derivatives.


	4. Chapter 4: White Sneakers and Grey Skies

**A/N: I decided to take down the original Chapter 4 (Shrunken Heads and Migraines) and revise it. It wasn't one of my favorites, and I just don't think it was written all that well. If I can fix it up enough, I'll repost it later. In the meantime, I'd love it if any of you out there would like to share any ideas you have for future chapters! Any suggestions at all would be a huge help! :)**

**P.S. I like Zavid too much to stay true to the Instinct story line… We'll have to see about Livia.**

**Chapter 4: White Sneakers and Grey Skies**

Nick pulled his school-issued grey gym shirt over his head as he closed his locker. "You ready to eat my dust today, Malphas?" he asked, turning to his best friend. Caleb stood beside him, pulling his own tacky grey gym shirt over his head.

"In your dreams, Gautier," the demon replied cooly. The two sat down on the locker room's bench together and began lacing up their standard white sneakers.

Their heads down, the two spoke in hushed tones. "Hey, in all seriousness," Nick began, "you think Dagon is gonna be okay today?" It was the god's first day of high school, and Caleb had taken special care to ensure that at least one member of Nick's merry little gang was with his cousin in each class. In this case, the only men's gym class with open seats happened to be the one that Caleb and Nick had begun the year in, and the same one that Zavid and Xevikan had transferred into halfway through the year.

Caleb glanced at Nick as he replied. "It's high school, Nick. The guy's an ancient warlord. I think he can handle it."

"Hey now," Nick started, "you know as well as anybody that high school is a battle in and of itself. Dagon is aware that he can't kill the freshmen when they walk on the wrong side of the hallway, right? Does he even know which side of the hallway is the right one?"

Caleb glared at Nick as the pair sat up straight on the wobbly bench covered in chipped paint. "You know, Nick, I think the guy can figure it out. Plus, you know, the whole god thing can't really hurt."

Nick sighed. "I don't need the sass today, Cay." Nick swatted his friend's arm to grab his attention as Dagon started over to them from his own locker. "Here he comes. Hey, Dagon," he greeted his friend. "How you feeling about running your first mile as an official high school student?"

"Fine, I guess," Dagon replied with a shoulder shrug. The ancient being seemed uncomfortable as he glanced around the room. While Dagon's divinely good looks kept him youthful-looking enough to pass as a high school junior, the thousands-year-old god had never been to a modern high school, let alone feel comfortable in one. Then again, Nick supposed, no one ever actually felt comfortable in a boys locker room. Every cubic inch of air smelt like sweat and spray-on deodorants. It was a hard smell to shake, especially when the school's cheap showers only ever ran cold, brown water.

Nick breathed in a sharp mouthful of stale air. "That's the spirit," he exhaled, standing from the bench. Brushing away the green paint chips that always clung to the school's mesh gym shorts, Nick sighed. "Where are Xev and Z? Are they ready for this?"

Caleb slapped his friend's shoulder. "I'm sure they're fine. We should head out to the track, though, before you rack up another tardy from Coach Ross." St. Richard's had employed yet another new football coach, who doubled as the boys' P.E. teacher during the school day. He'd only been here since the beginning of the semester, so he had been trying to prove himself as a capable educator by giving tardies and detentions as often as possible.

"Right," Nick frowned. "Let's get this over with."

Approaching the outdoor track a short walk away from the locker room, Nick and his two friends found Xevikan and Zavid speaking in rushed, violent tones, evil grins on each of their faces. Zavid shoved at Xevikan, pushing him a few steps backward. Xevikan cocked his head and stalked back up to the aamon, fully prepared to shove him back just as Nick reached the pair and stepped between them.

"What on God's green earth are the two of you doing?" Nick demanded, letting his full Cajun accent fly. Xev and Zavid glared at Nick, the demonic grins still playing on their features. After a few tense seconds, the two stepped apart and began to chuckle.

"Zavid here was just telling me how he was going to best my time today," Xev replied.

"And Xev here was just agreeing with me," Zavid taunted.

Xevikan growled, a gleam of mischief in his eye, as Nick butted in again. "Uh uh, we are not having any of that here. No fighting, no racing, no-"

"Racing?" Dagon interrupted from behind Nick.

"No, Dag, don't-" Caleb tried and failed to hold Dagon back from approaching the little feuding group of entities, who all turned to face Dagon.

"I would very much like a race," he grinned. "Especially if it's against Daraxerces."

"Hey," Zavid started. "Get your own meat. This one's mine for the roasting."

"Is that so?" Xevikan shifted his gaze from Dagon back to Zavid.

"What did I just say?" Nick asked, throwing his hands in the air in frustration. "Nobody is racing-" Coach Ross sounded the whistle, signaling the boys to line up at the starting line of the track. "-anybody," Nick sighed as Dagon, Xevikan, and Zavid continued to playfully shove and grin at each other while they made their way to the start.

Caleb breathed in sharply next to Nick. "Well, at least you tried."

Nick glared at his friend. "Thanks, Cay," he said bitterly.

"But," Caleb started, shrugging his shoulders, "You know what they say."

Nick sighed again as his three friends vied for a position in the coveted first lane, closest to the center. "And what's that?"

"If you can't beat 'em," Caleb stalked over to the starting line backwards, his hands spread out in an apologetic manner, "join 'em."

Nick opened his mouth to reply just as Coach Ross blew the whistle, signifying the start of the mile, and Caleb dashed off with Dagon, Xevikan and Zavid. Nick shook his head as he started to jog, groaning quietly to himself.

The first of four laps of the mile went relatively smoothly, all things considered. While each of the boys in the class fell into their own paces and spread out fairly evenly throughout the track, Caleb, Dagon, Xevikan, and Zavid stayed clumped together at the front of the pack. From his safe, not-too-embarrassing and yet not-too-impressive position in the middle of his class, Nick watched as his four friends rounded the last corner of their first lap. The group seemed to share a look between themselves, and Nick grimaced. That couldn't be good.

As the four supernatural beings crossed the finish line for the first lap, Dagon and Xevikan broke out in front of Zavid and Caleb. They put on extra speed in an attempt to break away from the two and took a decisive lead. Both demons behind them, however, had a glint of mischief in their eyes, and each set about taking down the god directly in front of themselves.

Caleb struck first, telekinetically tying Xevikan's shoelaces together with nothing more than the bat of an eye. Xev hit the pavement head first and skidded, his delay giving Caleb time to leap over his body like a hurdle and continue running without breaking his stride. Zavid followed suit, conjuring up a wad of wet chewing gum exactly where Dagon's next step would land. The aamon let out a short howl as he leapt over the fallen god the same way Caleb had leapt over Xev.

To any mortal watching the spectacle, it appeared that Xevikan and Dagon had tripped over their own two feet, and that Caleb and Zavid had simply tried to make a show of it rather than helping their classmates up, a relatively commonplace happening in a high school gym class. Nick, however, knew exactly what was happening. He watched in horror from the other side of the track as Coach Ross blew his whistle and started running to his fallen students, only to see them get back up and continue running. Xev and Dagon ran with renewed strength, a need for petty vengeance taking over. By the time the gods caught up to their demon counterparts, the two were crossing the finish line to complete their second lap.

With the Coach now on the other side of the track, shaking his head in disbelief and casually walking back to his place at the starting line, Xevikan and Dagon seized the opportunity to get some of the revenge that they both craved. Xevikan raised his eyebrows at his cousin, who nodded subtly. The two raised their hands ever so slightly, and together conjured up some powerful gusts of wind. Xevikan directed his gust of wind to Caleb, hitting him from the left and pushing him into Zavid, while Dagon directed his own burst of wind to Zavid, hitting him from the right and pushing him into Caleb.

The two demons hit the tarmac simultaneously, slamming their heads against one another before colliding with the ground. Nick breathed in sharply, trying to continue jogging like everyone else in his class, as Coach Ross frantically blew his whistle again and started running to his two newly fallen students. Lord only knew what that little incident looked like to everyone else.

Xev and Dagon casually sidestepped Caleb and Zavid and continued on their way, confidently leading the class. Zavid, under the impression that Caleb had shoved into him intentionally, and Caleb, under the impression that Zavid had shoved into him intentionally, started pushing and shouting at each other. No longer moving forward on the track, the two began a heated, partially physical argument on the side of the last lane, up against the start of the bleachers. Nick, now breathing heavily from his running, could only shake his head. That couldn't end well. Coach Ross continued to blow his whistle, now sprinting towards Caleb and Zavid.

Dagon and Xev, now seeing that they had successfully incapacitated the two demons for the time, turned on each other. Xevikan shoved Dagon off the track, into a pile of football supplies left after last night's practice. Xev continued on down the track while Dagon lie in a collection of pads and balls. Nick groaned out loud. That couldn't end well, either. Coach Ross now blew his whistle several times in panic, unsure of which side of the track to run to from the center of the field first.

Shaking his head stubbornly and grinning like a madman, Dagon grabbed a football from his side and hurled it toward Xevikan. It struck him square in the back, and the god fell to the pavement once more. Dagon brushed himself off and continued running just as Xev grabbed the football that had just struck him and prepared to throw it back at Dagon.

On the other side of the track, Caleb and Zavid had started to climb the bleachers. Caleb attempted to corner Zavid, but lost his footing on a row of seats, and fell down several steps. Zavid, then, used the opportunity to break away and start back to the track to continue the race.

Nick stopped his running as he approached the finish line for the third time. This little contest that his friends had created was spiraling out of control. There was no good way to explain to a mortal why his classmates were throwing footballs at each other and running up and down the bleachers like madmen. Come to think of it, there was no good way to explain it to even an immortal being like himself.

Nick sighed. Why was he always cleaning up his friends' messes? Gah. What to do? Caleb was downed on the bleachers, Zavid was scrambling to get back to the track before he could recover, Dagon was launching footballs down the track, Xevikan had strategically taken shelter behind a stack of hurdles, and the poor coach was frantic, unsure of what to do or where to go.

Nick moved himself off the track, standing by the gate as he tried to work out a solution. His classmates jogged past him, pointing out to each other the antics of Nick's friends and their coach, holding their sides with laughter and letting out whoops of encouragement to one classmate or another. Trying to ignore his classmates' loudness, Nick knelt down by the gate, feigning cramps. After a few seconds of contemplation, he almost laughed out loud at his ridiculous solution. Why did he always have to be so dramatic? Gah, who was he kidding? He knew why. He was a Cajun, and he had a flare for the dramatic in his blood. And anyhow, it was the only thing Nick could think of that could clear the track and the stands, and maybe even get himself out of running this brutal mile... A good, old-fashioned, you'll-never-see-it-coming Louisiana-style rainstorm.

Nick struggled with the effort of creating an overcast sky. Weather manipulation had never been his strong suit, and he'd been pretty over the moon when Kody had helped him conjure a tiny gray raincloud inside his apartment to water his mom's plants. He'd never dared anything on this scale, not even in practice. But that was then, and this was now. He was the Malachai, a demon in full right, with enough power to end the world. He was also Nicholas Gautier, a stubborn Cajun who wouldn't let some evil blood flowing through his veins boss him around.

Summoning his strength, Nick focused on creating a perfect storm. Kody had told him that the key to manipulating weather was envisioning what you wanted. Having lived in Louisiana his entire life, it was easy to conjure up images of black skies and flashing lightning. He didn't want to wreck the school, though, and risk hurting anyone, so he settled for a mild grey sky with pouring rain. Nick breathed in and out, slowly and rhythmically, like Kody had showed him. _Envision the thing you want the very most,_ Nick replayed her sweet, melodic voice in his head, _and make that your entire existence. Your life, your breath, everything needs to be consumed by this one image, this one thing that you need to want above anything else. _Nick recalled how he had smiled, opening his eyes slowly, to find exactly what he had wanted sitting right in front of him: not a tiny gray raincloud suspended between his hands, but Kody, kneeling in front of him, peering out at him with her sparkling, expectant green eyes.

Nick breathed a sigh of peace as he allowed Kody's warming presence to fill him completely. This was the power he needed, the calm, loving presence of his Arel, not the dark, hating bloodlust of the Malachai. His mind cleared and at peace, Nick summoned his powers and darkened the sky almost instantaneously. With little more than a bat of an eye, the rainclouds above the track opened up and poured down rain, accompanied by crashing thunder and lightning.

Caleb, Zavid, Xevikan and Dagon all stopped their shenanigans as they recognized the familiar feeling of demonic power spreading through the air and realized what had brought on this sudden storm. The rain started to pound even harder, whipped around by the wind. Lighting flashed everywhere, and thunder boomed almost continuously. Their classmates let out whoops of joy as Coach Ross started shouting for his students to get back inside, leaving the mile run to be done another day. Caleb's soaked face broke out in a smile from his place on the bleachers as he slowly stood and directed his gaze over to his friend by the gate.

Nick grinned even as he felt the familiar pressure of using his powers build in his head. He was really controlling this beast of a storm. He had created it, dreamed it up from nothing, and owned it, just like his girl had showed him. His four friends hesitantly started to join him by the gate, but only Caleb returned his grin. The other three wore expressions of mixed anger and fear. Nick frowned, not understanding his friends' concern. He was finally owning this Malachai thing, and they still weren't happy.

Caleb raised his arm against the harsh winds, rain plastering his dark hair to his tan face. "Mazel tov, Nick!" the daeve shouted above the torrential downpour. Caleb slapped his friend's arm in congratulations. "Gentlemen," he continued shouting, a grin stuck on his face all the while, "our fearless leader's insistence on ending our race can mean only one thing: Gautier here thinks that he can take the title from us with a little water," Caleb winked at Nick, knowing full well that entering the race was most certainly not the reason Nick had tapped into his powers, but that it would prod at the others' prides and ultimately sucker Nick into joining the race.

Nick continued to frown, but his three other friends' frowns slowly melted into devilish grins. Without another word, Caleb took off down the track, and Dagon, Xevikan, and Zavid bolted after him. Nick stood dumbfounded for a few seconds, but then sighed. A little silkspeech tossed in Coach Ross' direction could probably get him and his knucklehead friends out a detention or two… And if a torrential downpour like this one didn't stop his crazed friends, what would? Maybe Caleb was right. When it came to gods and demons, if you couldn't beat 'em, you had to join 'em. Shaking his head, Nick took off running after his friends, the thunder and lightning still crashing around them.


End file.
